Page 77 - ITU Journal, Future and evolving technologies - Volume 1 (2020), Issue 1, Inaugural issue
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ITU Journal on Future and Evolving Technologies, Volume 1 (2020), Issue 1




                                                               agation within a space, in every physical domain, i.e.,
                                                               for any physical material property and corresponding
                                                               information-carrying wave. For instance, control over
                                                               the equivalent RLC parameters of an electric load con-
                                                               trols the power that can be delivered to it by an EM
                                                               wave. Moreover, the presented software is a mature
                                                               prototype platform for the development of IoMMT ap-
                                                               plications. This constitutes a major leap towards a new
                                                               research direction. On the other hand, other research
                                                               directions have proposed and explored the Internet of
                                                               NanoThings [9]. Although similarly named, these direc-
                                                               tions are not related to the IoMMT, as they are about
                                                               embedding nano-sized computers into materials in order
                                                               to augment the penetration level of applications (e.g.,
                                                               sense structural, temperature, humidity changes within
                                                               a material, rather than just over it, etc.), and not to
                                                               control the energy propagation within them.
                                                               The remainder of this paper is organized as follows,
                                                               devoting a section to each of the principal contribu-
                                                               tions of our work. In Section 2 we provide the related
                                                               work overview and the necessary prerequisite knowledge
             (a) Conceptual IoMMT deployment within a smart home.
                                                               for networked metamaterial. In Section 3 we present
                                                               the architecture for integrating the IoMMT in exist-
                                                               ing Software-Defined Networks (SDNs) and systems. In
                                                               Section 4 we present the novel metamaterial API, and
                                                               Section 5 follows with the description of the Metamate-
                                                               rial Middleware and its assorted workflows. In Section 6
                                                               we present the implemented version of the software for
                                                               the EM metamaterial case, along with a description of
                                                               the employed evaluation test bed. Finally, novel real-
                                                               istic applications enabled with our new paradigm are
                                                               discussed in Section 7, and we conclude the paper in
                                                               Section 8.


             (b) Conceptual IoMMT deployment within single products.  2.  PREREQUISITES AND RELATED
                                                                    WORK
          Fig. 3 – Envisioned applications of the IoMMT in smart houses
          and products.                                        Metamaterials are simple structures that are created by
                                                               periodically repeating a basic structure, called a cell or a
             its architecture and interoperability with existing
                                                               meta-atom [3]. Some examples across physical domains
             network infrastructures.
                                                               are shown in Fig. 4. The planar (2D) assemblies of meta-
           ˆ We define two novel categories of software: the    atoms, known as metasurfaces, are of particular interest
             Metamaterial API and the Metamaterial Middle-     currently [10,11]. For instance, EM are currently heav-
             ware, which enable any software developer to in-  ily investigated by the electromagnetic/high-frequency
             teract with a set of networked metamaterials, in  community, for novel communications, sensing and en-
             a physics-agnostic manner. We establish the data  ergy applications. [12–14].
             models, workflows, and test bed processes re-      A notable trait of metamaterials is that they are sim-
             quired for profiling and, subsequently, componetiz-  ple structures and, therefore, there exists a variety of
             ing metamaterials.                                techniques for generally low-cost and scalable produc-
                                                               tion [3]. The techniques such as printed circuit broads,
           ˆ We present an implemented and experimentally      flexible materials such as Kapton, 3D printing, Large
             verified version of the metamaterial API and the   Area Electronics, bio-skins and microfluidics have been
             Metamaterial Middleware for the EM case.          successfully employed for manufacturing [3].
                                                               In each physical domain, a properly configured metama-
           ˆ We highlight promising, new applications empow-
                                                               terial has the capacity to steer and focus an incoming
             ered by the featured IoMMT concept.
                                                               energy wave towards an arbitrary direction or even com-
          In this aspect, the potential of our IoMMT paradigm  pletely absorb the impinging power. In the EM case this
          is the first to offer true control over the energy prop-  capability can be exploited for advanced wireless com-





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